Dreaming Reality
by AngelLuva
Summary: This story is based on GWTW but the only things it has in common with the story are the characters and their personalities. Everything else is different even the time its set in. ON HOLD!
1. Chapter 1

Scarlett O'Hara always got what she wanted. She knew she was beautiful and never hesitated to use her beguiling innocent good looks to get anything her heart desired._ 'After all everyone works with what they've got. And I just happen to have good looks'_ she always told herself.

Not that she was really lacking in anything. She belonged to one of the oldest families in the south. Her father, Gerald O'Hara was a wealthy man of Irish descent. His great-great-grandfather had come to America just before the civil war and had established himself as a plantation owner. Scarlett's mother, Ellen Robillard was also from a very prominent family and their marriage had been the merger of two vast fortunes.

Scarlett herself didn't particularly care for history. While she was grateful she had status and position that was only because those allowed her to attend the ultra posh Lafayette Academy. She loved her school. Until a little over two years before it had been all girls and Scarlett had not really wanted to go there. But just as she started her freshman year, the board of Lafayette had decided to combine the boys and girls schools, much to the joy of most of their students.

Now Scarlett was 16 and a junior. She and her best friend Cathleen Calvert were among the most popular girls at schools. Scarlett was on the cheerleading squad and she just knew next year she would be captain. She would've been captain this year if her stupid school didn't have a rule saying the captain of all teams had to be a senior. That was not the only sore point in her school life. Since their school had turned Co-Ed, Scarlett had been trying to catch the eye of Ashley Wilkes. He was captain of the football team and with his blonde good looks and Scarlett's gorgeous dark beauty, she was sure they would make a striking couple. After many failed attempts, Scarlett had finally gotten her chance to speak to Ashley back in freshman year. Ashley was a sophomore then. They had gotten along fairly well but he had never asked her out. They had become good friends, best buds even but for some reason Ashley had never even tried to kiss her.

'_Damn him' _She though irritably. _'School year is almost done, this is my last chance'_

Scarlett had heard rumours going around the school that Ashley had a girlfriend but she refused to believe it. _'I'm his best friend, he would tell me'_ she told herself.

Now, what Scarlett wanted most was to get Ashley to ask her to prom. A bunch of boys had already asked but she had not given anyone a reply. She was waiting. She knew if she went with Ashley it wouldn't hurt her chances at Prom queen either. Even though, as a senior he couldn't be voted in at the Junior Prom, just being seen with the handsomest boy in school would triple her chances. _'As if anyone else stands a chance'_ she scoffed. _'Sure some of the girls are pretty, but everyone loves me.'_ And they did. For some reason everyone in school were enthralled by Scarlett O'Hara. _'Why even that mouse Melly Hamilton adores me. Not even my blowing her brother off changed that'_ Charles Hamilton was a year ahead off Scarlett and had been after her for years. Nothing had gotten him off her back so Scarlett had finally given in and gone out with him. But when Charles had kissed her, Scarlett had sweetly told him that she had felt nothing for him and that kissing him felt like kissing her brother. She had said all of that in such a nice way that not only had Charles gotten the point but he had actually apologised to her at the end. _'Boys are such losers'_ she thought with contempt.

Scarlett was so lost in thought she barely noticed where she was going. She walked on knowing most of the students in the hallway would make way for her but as she turned a corner she ran straight into someone.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry" Scarlett said automatically before looking up to see who she had run into.

"That's okay. You should really watch where you're going." Rosemary Butler replied. She gave Scarlett a look before walking off.

Scarlett shrugged and kept walking. Rosemary Butler. Now that girl was certainly an enigma. She had been a part of Scarlett's tight knit clique back in junior high but then her parents had been killed in a car crash. After that Rosie had never been the same. Her super mysterious brother had come back to town after years of being away and had become her guardian. The Butler family was fabulously wealthy as well but for some reason scandal and heartache had plagued the family. First one of Rosie's brothers had died and then her other brother had started rebelling. Finally he had been kicked out of military school and sent to live up north. Scarlett remembered that the brother who died was Ross and he had been a couple of years older than she and Rosie. Back when they were little they used to all play together. For the life of her, Scarlett could not remember Rosie's other brother. He had been much older than them and had been at boarding school for ages. Once he left, the family had had a semblance of normalcy, until that fateful car crash four years ago that changed everything. The Child Care agencies had first wanted to place Rosie with relatives but her older brother had come back and claimed her. He had just turned 21 so the Agencies had no choice. The brother was very wealthy on his own, add that to the family's existing fortune and they had a very large empire. For a minute Scarlett felt sorry for Rosie. After all they used to be best friends. Even with all that money, she couldn't possibly be happy. _'I wonder how it would be to lose your parents and have to live with an annoying older brother until you turned 18.'_ After the accident, Scarlett and her friends had started to see less and less of Rosie until she finally stopped hanging out with them, preferring to spend her time reading books and in the company of her brother that people had yet to meet. Scarlett thought of going back and talking to her but then she saw her Ashley. Hurrying towards him she forgot all about Rosemary Butler and her sad family.

* * *

Hey guys! Don't worry I'm still working on The Countess, in fact I have most of it typed out already. Just holding it hostage until I get enough reviews. Lol. This idea came to me while I was studying for my econ final. I normally hate GWTW fics place in current day but Thermostat changed my mind and I had to write this. Please tell me what you think. If its crap I'll just delete the story but if anyone thinks I should keep going I will. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Ashley" Scarlett called breathlessly, "Ashley wait up"

Ashley Wilkes turned around to see who was calling his name and when he saw Scarlett his face broke out into a smile.

"Hey there pumpkin" he said.

Scarlett frowned. While it pleased her that Ashley called her by an endearment, it was this particular one that bothered her. Back in freshman year Scarlett had invited Ashley over for dinner. That night had been one of her many attempts to get him to make a move. But he had been a gentleman the whole night. The only thing that had come out of that night was that Ashley had heard Scarlett's dad calling her pumpkin and had since then refused to call her anything but.

"Ashley. Didn't you hear me shouting your name? I had to run down this stupid corridor to catch up with you. Why were you in such a mighty rush anyway? If I didn't know better I'd think you had a secret rendezvous to get to" Scarlett said flashing her dimples.

Hearing her words Ashley actually blushed a little and looked away.

"Nothing like that Scarlett. I just have a meeting with Melly. She's on the yearbook committee you know and I was going to give her a few pictures that she might want to include"

"Oh Ashley, you're such an overachiever. End of year is still ages away. Besides you shouldn't have to go drop them off yourself."

"I know, I just thought since I was headed that way, I may as well do it myself. But since you're here now I bet I'm not going that way anymore am I?" Ashley knew Scarlett wouldn't let him out of her sight now and truth be told, he enjoyed her attention.

"Damn straight! We're going to the coffee bar. I don't feel like Spanish and I know you have a free period"

"Lead the way" Ashley said holding out his arm for her.

"Why thank you dear sir" Scarlett batted her eyelashes prettily before they both burst out in laughter while making their way down the hallway.

* * *

Rosemary Butler was having a lousy day. First Miss Johnson gave her a 'D' in chemistry, _'I miss one lousy assignment'_ and then the guidance counsellor, Mr Matthews had called her in to tell her that she wasn't involved in enough extra-curricular activities. Every student at Lafayette was required to be a part of atleast two activities outside of school work and Rosie was currently in none. Which suited her just fine, but no they had to make her life miserable. Finally when she escaped the meeting from hell, she had run straight into Miss super-popular-I'm-so-pretty Scarlett O'Hara. Not that she had anything against Scarlett, just they way she had turned out. When they were kids, Scarlett had so much fire but since starting high school Scarlett had turned into a plastic doll. Pretty and perfect with no soul. Sometimes Rosie couldn't believe it. Scarlett and Cathy had been her best friends, now they were strangers who walked the same halls. Rosie turned her thoughts back to the most depressing news of all. Her sudden drop in grades meant her guardian had to be brought in for a parent-teacher conference. _'How the hell will I get Rhett to do that?'_ she asked herself. Rhett, who was once the most fun loving and irresistible charming guy anyone had ever met, was now a cold monster. Except with her. With Rosie he was all smiles and sunshine but Rosie wasn't sure if she should subject her teachers, however nasty they were, to the horror show that was Rhett Butler.

* * *

Scarlett really wanted to go home, play some music, light some candles and climb into her big bathtub. But that wasn't going to happen yet. No, she had to get through Cheerleading practice. Normally she looked forward to practice. But not today. She had had another frustrating non-date with Ashley. _'Why won't he just ask me already?'_ she questioned angrily. _'I'll give him till the end of the week. If he hasn't asked me by then, I'll ask him myself' _That thought immediately cheered her up and she walked into the gym only to stop again. This time it was shock. For standing in front of her was none other that Rosie Butler.

"Rosemary" Scarlett asked warily, "What are you doing here?"

Scarlett noticed the other girls were all staring and she shot them a look.

"I'm not quite sure. Mr Matthews told me I had to be involved in some extra curricular activities. At the time I told him to just sign me up for anything but now that I see that by anything, he took that to mean cheerleading, I really don't know what to do"

Scarlett was astonished. Not only was Rosemary here for cheerleading, but she was also stringing full sentences together. Scarlett hadn't heard Rosie say that much in the past four years.

"Umm, I don't know what you can do. If Kenny put you down then I guess you are meant to be here. Did you check in with Fanny? She's captain you know. She should be able to tell you what to do" Scarlett said.

"Yeh okay" Rosie said clearly not enthused by the idea.

Throwing her a sharp look, "If you don't want to be here you should just leave. Have your brother write you a note saying you have a bad knee. Then just get it signed by a doctor. Simple. No one can make you stay if you really want to go" Scarlett said

Rosie was quiet for a while and then just shook her head, "No, I want to be here. Ok, maybe 'want' is too strong a word but I'm not averse to being here' she said with a half smile.

Scarlett gave her a big smile back, "Finally, you've decided to live again"

Scarlett then walked over to Fanny and had a quiet discussion with her. A student being appointed to the Cheerleading Squad was highly unorthodox, but then again Scarlett could see quite clearly why it had happened. Rosie was a Butler and although no one made a big deal about it, everyone knew Lafayette was founded by Rosie's great-great-grandfather in an effort to preserve the old world. The family still retained the original ownership of the school all though its governing had long been turned over to a board elected every five years. A Butler was also always on the Board so Scarlett knew how much clout Rosie had, if she ever chose to wield it. To have her quit the school would be a terrible blow, so most teachers went out of their way to keep her happy_. 'Even going so far as to sign her up for 'popular' activities.' _The last thought made Scarlett laugh to herself. She knew that making Rosemary be a cheerleader was more torture than pleasure for the lanky girl.

Scarlett looked over at Rosie and gave her a once-over. 'Not bad' she thought. 'I just need to make sure she has her eyebrows plucked, definitely a mani-pedi, and oh a facial for sure' Scarlett studied her clothes, they were obviously expensive but not what you would call cutting edge 'I guess we need to go shopping too' Scarlett tried to concentrate on what Fanny was saying about Rosie not being trained and such before Scarlett shushed her.

"Fanny, this is Rosemary Butler. We both know if Kenny sent her here, she's here to stay. If you're so worried, let me be her sponsor. I'll make sure she's ready to cheer on the Warriors before the pep rally next weekend. Okay?" Scarlett was getting impatient. She hated when people procrastinated and she also knew how to pick her battles. Challenging Rosie's position on the team would not be one she would win. And also was not one she wanted to win. 'How odd. It's almost like I want her here' she wondered absently before smiling at Rosie and waving her over.

"Well Rosemary, Scarlett and I have talked about it and we'd like to welcome you on team"

Rosemary's expression was priceless. She was caught between shock and despair that she had actually been allowed to stay, and mild pleasure that she hadn't been reject outright.

"Thank you, I think" Rosie muttered the last bit but Scarlett heard her and gave her a small smile.

As Fanny turned to the rest of the squad to tell them about their new team member, Scarlett and Rosie walked to the back and settled down to do some stretches following Cathy who seemed to be leading the group.

"Why cheerleading?" Scarlett asked suddenly. "It can't be as random as just pulling an activity out of a hat"

Rosie sighed and looked over at Scarlett, "I guess you don't remember us taking Ballet lessons"

"Yeh I do, but that was years ago. We were like 12"

"I didn't quit when you did. I'm pretty good actually. I might even study dance at college. But anyway, since my interests were reading, horse riding and dancing that left me few options. And as you know there's no dance team at Lafayette so…"

Scarlett nodded, "So that's why you're here. I must say I am relieved. I was afraid you might be an uncoordinated klutz" she said laughing as they continued their warm up.

* * *

Hey this is going slowly. I'm still not sure if I should continue. Please review. Good bad anything. Rhett should come around in the next few chaps. Right now I'm focussing on Scarlett and a bit of background. 


	3. Chapter 3

"I got a phone call from you guidance counsellor today"

Rosie sighed. She was having dinner with her brother. It was Thursday, and it had been four days since that disastrous day and she had been hoping against hope that Mr. Matthews a. k. a Kenny hadn't called Rhett.

"Really?" Rosie asked with an innocent expression. "I can't imagine why"

Rhett smirked at his little sister's attempt at looking innocent.

"Yes Really. So what's this I hear about you failing chemistry?"

"I am not failing" Rosie argued hotly. "I just got one lousy 'D'. It isn't the end of the world. I don't see why everyone's making such a big deal out of it"

"I'm not so worried about your grade. You're a smart girl, I know you'll do the needful. In any case I have already hired you a private tutor who will help you with Chemistry and any other subjects you're having problems with"

"A tutor? What? Why? I don't need one" Rosie started to grumble.

"You will study with your tutor and you know there's no point arguing with me. Why even bother?" Rhett said easily. "Like I said, I'm not worried about chemistry. What bothers me is that I had to listen to some strange man who I have never met, tell me that I am not involved enough in your life which is why you have become sullen and withdrawn" Rhett finished with a quirk of his eyebrow. In his opinion his sister was neither, she just didn't like the people around her and it showed.

"Yeh well that bothers me too. Do you wanna know the worst bit? I thought since we practically own the school I'd get a few perks, but nooo, Kenny has to be a stickler and make me sign up for stupid after-school activities" Rosie complained.

"We don't own the school Rosie, the Butler-Lafayette Trust does. We just run the trust" Rhett said smiling at his sister.

"Same difference. You will not believe what I have to do. I have half a mind to call the whole board"

"And say what? If you don't let me get out of an activity I'll stomp my feet and cry to my big brother?" Rhett asked amused.

"Oh shut up! You'd feel the same if you had to be a cheer-" Rosie broke off annoyed that she had almost let the cat out of the bag.

Rhett burst out laughing, "Are you telling me, my sister, the girl who wears black all the time and forever has her nose stuck in a book, is now a cheerleader?"

Rosie scowled which made her brother laugh even harder.

"It's not that funny. I am a ballerina you know"

"Yes and that's art. Now you're going to be wearing a mini skirt and waving pompoms while yelling for a bunch of meatheads to 'Be Aggressive'!"

"It's not like that" Rosie yelled suddenly.

"Ok ok. Calm down. I'm sure it's a lot more fun chanting, Give me a 'W'!" Rhett said smiling mischievously.

"Shut up Rhett"

Rhett laughed again but quietly this time. "Well this makes things all that much easier. After a talk with Matthews, I decided that maybe it was time to re-instate an old tradition. And maybe at the same time, I could meet some of the people on your life"

Rosie looked surprised, "You wanna meet the people on my life?" she parroted. And then she narrowed her eyes, "What tradition?"

"Nothing major. Back in the day, while Lafayette had separate academies for boys and girls, they used to have a ball for the juniors. When the girls were 16 basically. A sort of coming out ball, where all the junior girls were the debutantes. They stopped having this ball shortly after I was sent to military school. I was thinking maybe you could head the committee that will plan the Deb Ball"

Rosie stared at her brother wide eyed, "You want me to what? Are you kidding me? I have no idea how to plan a party at home, let alone a Ball for hundreds of people. Get someone else to do it."

"There will be no ball unless you plan it. It's as simple as that. Matthews wants you to be more involved in school stuff and what better way than to plan the biggest dance before prom?" Rhett asked half sarcastically.

A panicky feeling was rising in Rosie, "But I don't know where to start" she wailed.

"Well, you might start with forming an actual committee. You can't do this alone. Recruit students who have done this kind of stuff before. You better hurry because the date we picked is 3 week from now and that's not a long time."

"That's impossible. 3 weeks. Maybe if I had more time" Rosie said seeing a way out of the situation.

"That's the only weekend I have free in the next two months and after that the school said it would be too close to prom to have the Ball. It has to be done then and as a Butler I expect you to deliver on time"

"Fine." Rosie answered_. 'How the hell am I going to pull this off? I need someone who has done this before, who can take charge, who can plan, I need Scarlett'_ Rosie felt relieved when she thought of her old best friend and now tentative friend. _'Scarlett wouldn't pass up a chance to plan one of the biggest parties of the year' _

Rosemary smiled at Rhett, "Fine I'll do it, but if this Ball is a success then I'm going to ask you for something and you can't refuse. Deal?"

Rhett studied Rosie indifferently, he wondered for a moment what she might ask of him then dismissed the thoughts, probably a new car or some such nonsense, "Deal"

* * *

"Scarlett!"

Scarlett was sitting at her usual table at lunch. The cheerleaders table. She looked up to see who was calling her and was surprised to see Rosie Butler standing next to her. Even though Rosie was now a cheerleader, she hadn't yet started hanging out with the whole group or anything.

"Rosie" Scarlett smiled, "Grab a seat" she said motioning to the empty seat next to her.

"Thanks" Rosie said while sitting down looking increasingly uncomfortable. She smiled at the other girls who all smiled back before resuming their conversations.

Feeling a little out of place, Rosie turned to Scarlett and said in a low voice, "I need your help"

Unable to stop the shock from flooding her face, Scarlett needed a few seconds to compose her expression.

"Umm.. Sure. What do you need me to help you with?"

Rosie took a deep breath and started to tell Scarlett all about the Deb Ball and how she, Rosie, had to plan it for it to happen. Rosie also explained her need for help which brought her to her request.

"So, anyways, my brother said the Ball will only happen if I head the committee and I really don't know what to do. Please help me Scarlett. We only have three weeks!"

By now Rosie had gotten the attention of the entire table.

"Ohmigod! The Deb Ball, My mum told me about hers. I'd love to help Rosie. And if we only have three weeks then I guess we should start straight away"

Rosie smiled as excited whispers broke out at the table.

Scarlett's sharp mind went over the possibilities. A Ball in three weeks would be hard, but not impossible. Not if they started straight away. It was Friday today anyway, if they could just put together a committee in the next few hours then the whole weekend could be spent planning.

"-people who might want to help" Rosie's voice broke into her thoughts.

"What? Oh, a committee? Yeh I was thinking the same. I helped plan the Winter Ball last year. Sure we had three months to plan but I think my old committee worked well together. What do you think?"

"Oh, that's fine. I knew you would help me. I don't really know why my brother is insisting I run the show but I figured, may as well."

Scarlett smiled. Normally she would have hated the fact that someone else was getting the glory but for once it didn't bother her. Maybe it was because Rosie would never be a threat to her position. Or maybe she just liked the girl.

Then Scarlett's eyes narrowed as she studied Rosie remembering all her plans for the newest cheerleader.

"Well, we better get a move on things if we wanna get anything done thins weekend. We already have so much to do besides planning" Scarlett said.

"We do?" Rosie questioned.

"Oh did I forget to tell you? Tomorrow is our spa day. Well Spa morning now that we have stuff to do. You, Cathy and I, 9am tomorrow morning. It's going to be so much fun!" Scarlett said clapping her hands.

"Sure. Fun. That's what it's gonna be" Rosie agreed sourly.

…………………………………

By the end of lunchtime Scarlett had alerted everyone she wanted on the committee and told them to stay back after school for their first meeting. The rest of the day had dragged by and now finally, she was sitting next to Rosie in a n empty Classroom facing the others.

There were six other students there. Each picked for very specific reasons. There was Maybelle Meriwether, whose dad owned a fabulous chain of restaurants. She would arrange refreshments. There was Phillip Meade who knew everyone, good or bad, rich or poordespite coming from one of the most rigid families around. He knewthe scariest people.He would take care of security. Honey Wilkes, Ashley's sister who was very artistic would be in charge of decorations. Stuart and Brent Tarleton, the gorgeous identical twins who were the funniest guys in school and also among the most popular. They would publicise the event and sell tickets. And last there was Cade Calvert, Cathy's twin brother and Scarlett's ex boyfriend. They had dated for nearly a year and had had a messy break up. But Scarlett and Cade had eventually put the past behind them, mostly because Cathy couldn't stand her best friend and brother hating each other. Cade was going to help Scarlett make sure the 'debut' of the young girls went off smoothly. He was helping her plan that portion of the event knowing that on the night, Scarlett would be one of the girls making her debut and hence would be unable to help any. Basically, Cade was going to run the show on the night.

All six had previously done similar jobs for various school functions and were quite confident in their abilities. The only person missing was Sally Brewton. The whole Brewton family were on an extended trip to Europe. Sally had been dating a guy that her parents deemed 'unfit' so to get her away from him they had all left to Europe a month ago. Sally's dad worked for a big recording company and she normally arranged the entertainment. A small frown appeared of Scarlett's forehead as she tried to figure out who could replace her while the others filled Rosie in on their responsibilities.

"Scarlett!" Rosie shouted for the third time.

"Uh- What?" Scarlett said snapping out of her reverie.

"We seem to have everything except music" Rosie said smiling at the others sitting there. They all seemed so nice. Rosie wondered why they had started to annoy her so much that she stopped spending time with them.

"Yea. That's what I was trying to figure out. You guys know who could be our new 'Sally'?" Scarlett asked them. Sally had always been able to pull of the impossible and the entertainment was always good when she had been the one to arrange it.

Everyone shook their heads and muttered negative responses. They were themselves feeling a little overwhelmed by the task set to them. Ten days to plan, ten days to execute.

"I'll do it" Rosie said.

Seven pairs of questioning eyes landed on her.

"Let's just say being my brother's sister has some perks" Rosie grinned at them. "I'll check with him tonight and I'll have something definite to report on Monday"

They spent a few more minutes discussing each person's plan. Money wasn't really an issue, never was in this school, but this time in particular they could go all out, because the Butlers were footing the tab. Not the school.

Rosie made sure everyone had her mobile number and her email address and that she had theirs. Every single one of the eight teenagers there had the brand new blackberries that had come out the previous week. And more than one phone number. So it was a little tricky getting all the necessary information down right.

They decided to meet again Sunday night at Rosemary's house. Most of them had been there as kids and even if they hadn't everyone knew the Butler Mansion. It was the biggest, most beautiful building in town.

After saying their goodbye's everyone left leaving Scarlett and Rosie behind.

"So I'll see you tomorrow at 8.30am. My house. Don't be late" Scarlett said.

"Sure, I'll be there"

* * *

Hey, thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming. This is one story I'm not very sure of so I need heaps of encouragement.. : D


	4. Chapter 4

It had been two weeks since the first meeting for the Deb Ball. Things were progressing smoothly. Every single member of the committee was pretty much stressing to make sure everything worked out as planned. They were in the home stretch now. Exactly a week before the big day and lucky for them there had been no major mishaps.

"Well I guess that's it then people. Good work and I'll see you all back here on Monday after school" Rosie said at the meeting. It was Friday after school and they were meeting in the same place they had initially. Infact it had become their regular meting spot.

"Yeh, we're all done. But Rosie, you're still holding out on the entertainment" Cade said, while lazily stretching out.

Rosie stuck her tongue out at him and with an impish smile she said, "For the millionth time Cade, my brother said he'll arrange it. And even if you ask me every day, I'm still not going to tell you"

Scarlett watched the interaction between her ex boyfriend and new almost-best friend and grinned to herself. A lot of people thought Scarlett would throw a bitch fit when she realised that Cade and Rosie were flirting but had Scarlett surprised them. She just studied Rosie's outfit with a critical eye.

'_Well, I can't really find fault with it. I did pick it'_ she thought to herself.

Over the past two weeks there had been a huge transformation in Rosemary Butler. Her first spa day with Scarlett and Cathleen had been painful in her opinion, fruitful in Scarlett's opinion.

Rosie now had neatly plucked eyebrows, something she had refused to have done until Scarlett bulldozed her into doing it. Her hair was cut in layers and it looked fuller and sexier than it had before. Cathy had been the one to convince her to get her hair done.

Next Rosie had had the requisite mani-pedi and then a relaxing facial and massage. Or what Scarlett and Cathy thought to be relaxing. Even though the other girls seemed to be enjoying themselves, Rosie had thought her first spa/beauty day to be torture!

But even Rosemary couldn't complain about the results, just the method. She looked and felt better than she had in years. After an exhausting trip to the mall where she put Rhett's credit card to good use, Rosie now had a wardrobe that rivalled even Scarlett's. Rosie's clothes had always been expensive and elegant, but they were never cutting edge. Nor was she ever hung up on designers. But Rosie knew better than to battle with Scarlett O'Hara and Cathleen Calvert over clothes.

And that was just one Saturday. Over the next few days, Scarlett and Cathy had introduced her to make up and had even convinced her to get her ears pierced. Slowly Rosie had lost her sullen irritated manner and had just accepted what was going on. She had even started to enjoy it although she swore she would never admit it to Scarlett.

Then the biggest shock had come. At the meeting at the Butler's, Cade who had become a huge player after he and Scarlett broke up, had taken one look at Rosie and had stopped mid stride. Recovering quickly, he had gone to her and whispered,

"What did you do? You don't look like you. You look like them" Then he had winked at her. "But you do look fine"

Rosie had blushed not knowing how to react. She had mumbled a thank you.

All through the meeting, Rosie knew she was getting looks from these boys who had never noticed her before. Cade, Brent, Stu even Phil had never so much as spared her a glance before but now that she had conformed to their sense of 'beautiful' she was suddenly worth their time. These thoughts made Rosie scowl even more than usual and her manner more abrupt. After the meeting when everyone was leaving Cade had come up to her again and before she could react he had said softly,

"Atleast you still act like you"

He had then walked away leaving a very confused Rosie behind.

Now after all this time, Rosie found that she and Cade had fallen into an easy camaraderie. They joked around and even flirted a little.

Scarlett had noticed this straight away but instead of being upset or annoyed, Scarlett had encouraged their friendship. She truly cared about Cade and now that she had her old best friend back, she could see that Rosie was still the same person she was before, still kind and generous, with a bit of a temper maybe but Scarlett, always the matchmaker, saw potential. While at first she had felt the slightest twinge of jealousy, she had ignored it.

'_Cade and Scarlett, that story is so played out.'_ She thought. Their relationship had been amazing but they had had so much drama, the constant break ups and make ups. It had gotten to be so bad that by the time they ended it the once best friends-turned-couple hated each other. It had taken a lot of time and enormous effort of Cathy's part to patch them up. Both Scarlett and Cade knew they would never go down that road again but they both wanted to be friends like they used to be.

'_And part of being a friend is not sabotaging the other person's prospective relationships'_ Scarlett thought to herself firmly.

The only person who didn't seem too thrilled at the new development was Cathy. She had always pictured her brother and best friend rediscovering their feelings for each other and falling back in love. Now with Rosie on the scene, the chances of that had reduced considerably.

Scarlett had tried to talk to Cathy and explain that she and Cade were not going to get back together, not now, not ever but the conversation had just escalated into an argument and Scarlett had decided to back off for the time being.

_'I'll try again after the meeting'_ Scarlett thought to herself.

She then looked around and realised nearly everyone had left. Cathy was waiting for her impatiently at the door while Cade and Rosie spoke to each other.

"Are you coming Scarlett? We're supposed to be at out fittings in like twenty minutes" Cathy yelled.

"Yup. I'm there. Rosie, hurry up and say bye-bye to Cade here. We have to go make sure we look gorgeous at the Ball" Scarlett said while walking over and linking arms with Rosie.

"Aww Belle, you know you could turn up in a burlap sack and still be the hottest girl in the room" Cade said with a wink. Belle was the nickname Cade had given her when they were younger. Once when Scarlett, Cathy and Cade had watched a movie set before the Civil War, one of the characters was called the 'Belle of the Ball' because she was the prettiest, had the nicest dress and had most of everyone's attention on her. Cade had immediately likened that character to Scarlett and had since then called Scarlett 'Belle'.

"Oh I know. I just want to make everyone else knows it too." Scarlett said with a laugh then she gave Cade a quick hug and started to drag Rosie off with her.

"Bye Cade" Scarlett called as they walked out.

"Bye Belle. Bye Rosie" Cade yelled back.

"Bye Cade"

* * *

Later that evening while the girls were getting their measurements taken Rosie asked Scarlett suddenly,

"Why does Cade call you Belle?"

Scarlett laughed and told her the story.

"My brother and Scarlett have a really long history you know" Cathy said a little spitefully and then shot Scarlett an apologetic look.

"Yeah we do but that's all it is, History" Scarlett said. "Look Rosie, I'm not going to lie to you and say Cade and I had nothing together. We did but its so over and neither of us want to go back. So if you like him I say go for it!"

"Like him? I didn't say I like him. I was just curious about the nick name that's all" Rosie said quickly and then looked anywhere but Scarlett.

"Yeh Right. Rosemary Butler, you are a terrible liar. I know you like Cade. He's a really great guy and if you want Cathy and I can speak to him for you"

"No! Please don't!" Rosie practically shouted.

Cathy and Scarlett both burst out laughing when they heard her panicked tone.

"Don't worry. We won't say a word" Scarlett said, "Will We?"

Cathy just nodded along.

"Speaking of boys, do you have a date for the Ball yet?" Cathy asked Scarlett.

"Nope. I mean a couple of guys have asked me but I don't know. I mean this is so cool. For once there's like no competition from girls from other grades." Scarlett said.

"What do you mean? Cant the guys in our grade ask other girls?" Cathy asked.

"Jeez Cathy, did you not listen to any of the announcements regarding the Ball?" Scarlett asked with mild irritation.

"Uh, No, I didn't see why I had to since like my twin brother and best friend are both on the planning committee" Cathy said.

Sensing a fight Rosie butted in quickly, "Oh it's nothing bid Cathy. It's just that traditionally the Deb Ball was a chance for juniors from both the boys and girls academies to mingle. And no other grade kids were allowed. Now normally we would have changed the rules but this year all we did is tweak them a little. See there are more girls in our grade than boys, so we figured all the boys can get dates but those girls who can't or just didn't can ask boys from other grades. You see?"

"And just so there's no confusion once people have settled on their dates they have to register with us so we can make sure the lists are ready. You know, to announce the Deb's name and then her escort. The last day to register dates is Monday. The remaining people will be assigned dates at the latest by Thursday. We have some of the seniors who have volunteered to be escorts so it's going to be awesome" Scarlett said.

Cathy shot her a shrewd look, "Is Ashley one of the volunteers?"

Rosie turned to look at Scarlett too.

"I have no idea. Cade is handling that" Scarlett said with her most innocent expression.

"Uh huh. Sure" Cathy said.

Rosie snickered. She could tell that Scarlett was lying too and that Cathy clearly didn't believe her.

Scarlett quickly changed the subject,

"So anyways Rosie, do you like Cade?" Scarlett asked.

Rosie blushed but just shook her head. This time even Cathy just smiled knowingly.

"Ohmigod! You like loser too? What is it with my friends and my brother?" Cathy asked jokingly.

"Stop calling Cade loser. That's so not nice" Scarlett said with a tiny frown.

"Who are you, my mother?" Cathy asked annoyed. "Besides it's better than what you call him"

"What do you call Cade?" Rosie asked curiously.

Scarlett blushed and just said, "Oh that's one story we won't be getting into today"

* * *

Hey! Sorry it took me so long but while I already have most of the countess written up, this is a WIP. So here is a long update to make up for the long absence and as a thank you for all the reviews. I promise there will be Rhett in the next chap and the Rhett/Scarlett meeting will take place very soon. I'm just enjoying the high school stuff so much I had to write a little more.

Please Review. The more you do the more I write, the quicker and longer the updates get.


End file.
